Red Wings Hope to Increase Scoring By Being More Physical

The Detroit Red Wings hope to solve two problems with a single remedy during the 2026-27 season.

They believe if they can be harder to play against, to be more belligerent, particularly in the offensive zone, it can not only disrupt and wear down the opposition but may lead to more scoring. The Red Wings took a step toward that objective by trading a third-round pick and a seventh to the Vegas Golden Knights this summer for Keenan Kolesar. He finished seventh in the league with 270 hits last season.

"Now we've got to get some other guys that are on our roster that can provide us that and become heavier and harder to play against," Detroit coach Todd McLellan said. "Then collectively we might score more by doing that."

The Red Wings ranked 22nd in the league in scoring last season and 29th at just over 17 hits per game. More hitting also creates a mental edge, undermines an opponent's puck-moving and forces turnovers. Turnovers brought about by a heavy forecheck can lead to goals.

"If I can do what I can do and bring that role, I think guys can feed off it well," Kolesar said.

Kolesar has averaged 262 hits per season for the past five season. Physical play has always seemed contagious

"I would hope so," Kolesar said. "I think there's a room full of proud guys in here that want to turn things around. Maybe the first step is bringing what I can, and see who wants to follow along. The Red Wings do have some young hitters, like Marco Kasper (who led the team in hits), Moritz Seider , Simon Edvinsson , Emmitt Finnie , plus veteran Ben Chiarot.

Prospects Carter Mazur and particularly Michael Brandsegg-Nygard could both add prickliness to the lineup.

"Nygaard's going to make our team harder, assuming he makes the team, which I think he can," McLellan said. "He's going to make our team play a little harder."

doing that. So it's easy to look at what left and do the math and then look at what came in. But we think collectively we can be harder to play against, which will put us in the offensive zone longer and in our zone less.

NHL teams want to be "harder to play against" because it directly disrupts the opponent's strategy, forces turnovers, wears down players physically, and creates a mental edge